Review: TITANIC ON ICE: THE MUSICAL! at the The Lift For Life Academy Theater

Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre calls itself, “theatre that exists on the razors edge of wit and pop culture.” In collaboration with St. Louis Shakespeare, Magic Smoking Monkey opened their spoof of the James Cameron film “Titanic” this weekend. TITANIC ON ICE: THE MUSICAL is a 70-minute absurd retelling of Jack, Rose, and the sinking of that infamous ‘unsinkable ship of dreams.’  

TITANIC ON ICE: THE MUSICAL is a cross between a semi-successful “Saturday Night Live (SNL)” skit and a ridiculous hour-long sketch from the old “Carol Burnett Show.” Overall, the production had the feel of an amateur improv troupe creating a show based on an idea tossed out from the audience. The script, adapted by Rob McLemore, includes all the memorable plot points from the film, plus every silly joke or sight gag that came to McLemore's mind. It is plausible to think that during rehearsals the cast and crew collaborated to continue adding jokes and sight gags. 

Most of the audience found many laughs in TITANIC ON ICE: THE MUSICAL. There were times, based on the audience reaction, that one might classify a joke as uproarious. There were a handful of bits that caused me to laugh out loud, and I found some of the sight gags humorous enough to provoke a smile or a giggle. The singing iceberg, the life preserver from the S.S. Minnow, and the romance inside vehicles on the ship were all amusing, but  the gags could not save the uneven production. 

Here’s what worked. In addition to the previously mentioned sight gags, Donna Northcutt’s direction was crisp, the pacing was swift, and the show was well rehearsed. The cast of 16 fully committed to their performances. They fearlessly inhabited their alter egos, sold the comedy, and created some memorable characters.  

Austin Cochran (Jack) captured Jack’s optimistic energy from the film and benefited from his DiCaprio-esque boyish looks. Kelli Rao jumped in with both feet (pun intended) into her role as Ruth Bukater, Rose’s mother. While the satire of her role was lost on me, she committed fully to the uppity snobbery of the character from the film. She spoke inarticulate angry gibberish to express her displeasure with Jack and his budding friendship with Rose. Christy Simmons was hilarious as the sexually forward Molly Brown. She was crass in every way, making Kathy Bate’s Molly Brown seem refined. Christi Diamond charmed as Old Rose, daffy with senility, narrating and reminiscing about her romance with the deuteragonist.  

Unfortunately, performing it as a musical caused the production to come off as amateurish. Nick Bohl and Jaysen Cryer’s unmemorable music and lyrics added awkwardness to the show. The poorly written songs and the cast’s lack of singing talent caused the jokes embedded in the songs to fall flat. Sadly, the choice of the word flat describes all the vocal performances.  

Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre’s production of TITANIC THE MUSICAL continues in the Don Lux Performing Arts Theater on the Lift for Life Academy campus through June 30th. Click the link below to purchase tickets.  

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